Working Paper: NBER ID: w11394
Authors: Orley Ashenfelter; William J. Collins; Albert Yoon
Abstract: In this paper we study the long-term labor market implications of school resource equalization before Brown and school desegregation after Brown. For cohorts born in the South in the 1920s and 1930s, we find that racial disparities in measurable school characteristics had a substantial influence on black males' earnings and educational attainment measured in 1970, albeit one that was smaller in the later cohorts. When we examine the income of male workers in 1990, we find that southern-born blacks who finished their schooling just before effective desegregation occurred in the South fared poorly compared to southern-born blacks who followed behind them in school by just a few years.
Keywords: No keywords provided
JEL Codes: J7; I28; N32
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Timing of desegregation (I28) | Labor market outcomes of southern-born blacks (J79) |
| Parental education (I24) | Racial wage gap (J79) |
| Diversion of resources from black schools prior to Brown (I24) | Long-term negative effects on labor market outcomes (J79) |
| Cumulative impact of racial discrimination in education (I24) | Labor market outcomes (J48) |
| Racial disparities in measurable school characteristics (I24) | Earnings of black males (J31) |
| Improvements in school quality (I21) | Educational attainment (I21) |
| Educational attainment (I21) | Income levels (D31) |